Boxer Jesse Rodriguez: ‘Being here is just amazing and it’s come so fast’

“It’s crazy to be here,” Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez says as his eyes open wide and he looks around the gaudy old fight city of Las Vegas where, on Saturday night, he promises to breathe fresh hope into a dark and jaded business for the third time this year. Boxing is scarred by corruption and danger but, sometimes, it offers up an exhilarating story. Rodriguez is a little whirlwind who is only five foot four inches tall and until recently weighed only 108lb before he changed his life for ever. He is on course to become world boxing’s Fighter of the Year.

“For me, it’s just amazing and it’s come so fast,” Rodriguez says, his 22-year-old face lit by a stunned smile. “I always knew this day would come but I just didn’t expect it to happen this way.”

Eight months ago he was scheduled to fight on the undercard to a riveting headline battle for the vacant WBC world super-flyweight title between the legendary Thai fighter Srisaket Sor Rungvisai and another seasoned former world champion in Carlos Cuadras. Rodriguez had grown up watching both men and was excited to be fighting on the same bill. Six days before the bout, however, Rungvisai pulled out with an injury and Rodriguez was asked if he would be willing to step in as a replacement. He had been preparing for a fight at light-flyweight, two divisions below the 115lb category where Cuadras, a 44-bout veteran, was waiting.

“When they told me about it, I got so excited because fighting for a world title was something I’ve always dreamed of. I couldn’t pass up that opportunity. I also felt like I was always born to be on that platform so, of course, I went in confident. I already knew how it was going to turn out. But, yeah, in the first round it was crazy, because I was thinking: